Judge dismisses House Democrats lawsuit over budget bill signed with clerical error

[JURIST] US District Judge Nancy Edmunds Monday dismissed [ruling, PDF] a lawsuit [complaint, DOC; JURIST report] brought by US House Democrats challenging the validity of a $39 billion deficit-reduction bill. The plaintiffs argued that the measure was invalid since the Senate and House approved two different versions. The version approved by the Senate [PDF text] indicated that Medicare [official website] would be able to rent certain types of medical equipment for 13 months, but the version put before the House [text] said the rentals could last for 36 months, which was a $2 billion discrepancy. The White House and Republican leaders said the mistake was purely technical due to a clerk's error, but 11 House Democrats led by Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) [official website], the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee [official website], filed the lawsuit contending the bill should be voided because the House was not given an opportunity to vote on the same legislation considered by the Senate.

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